Sarah Price's Blog, page 11

Some Roads Should Never Be Walked Alone

IN just a few short weeks, my book, The Faded Photo, will be releasing in bookstores and all online stores. It’s my first venture into women’s fiction and I must confess that the journey was rather interesting. I learned a lot and found that I really do enjoy writing in different genres.

The Faded Photo is about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer. Most people who know me hear that part and immediately interrupt me to ask if it’s based on my own experience.

“No,” I reply for the umpteenth time. “It’s not.”

You see, Frances Snyder has a totally different approach to dealing with her breast cancer. Unlike me, she chooses to not include her family in the beginning of her cancer fighting journey and then, to her dismay, she realizes that she no longer can tell them. Clearly that is not me. Or is it?

When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I faced it with a positive attitude and figured “it is what it is.” To translate that, I turned it over to God and figured that I would accept whatever he wanted for me. But I never hid that I had breast cancer from my family. I did, however, choose not to tell fan-base. It wasn’t until the night of my double mastectomy that I had no choice but to let everyone know.

But that’s another story.

After my mastectomy and during my chemotherapy treatment, I often went alone. I didn’t want to deal with people hovering over me and fussing. I found that most people didn’t quite know how to deal with my relaxed approach to treatment. When people did come to the Chemo Cocktail Lounge, they talked too much. It drove me crazy. Or, in one case, they didn’t talk at all. That also drove me insane.

I quickly realized that there was no one way that anyone could act that would please me during the hour or so that it took to pump that dreadful red cancer fighting medicine (toxin) into my body so it was just better to go alone.

I wonder if people weren’t a little relieved by that decision on my part.

The Chemo Cocktail Lounge is not a pretty place. Every occupant seated in a chair with a tube feeding their body chemo medicine has a story. A sad story. I met people there that I talked with one week and then never saw again because they died. I met people there that I knew from Little League or parents of my children’s friends. There are no happy stories in the Chemo Cocktail Lounge.

But each story is important. Like Frances’ story in The Faded Photo. Why did she hide her cancer in the beginning? Why didn’t she tell her family after it was confirmed? And how could she possibly think that no one would notice?

These are questions that you will have to answer for yourself, along with the question “What would you do?” if you were in her shoes.

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What I love about living on a farm

Today, after three months living on our farm in Archer, Florida, it dawned on me that I am now, officially, a farmer.

OK, maybe three months doesn’t make me a REAL farmer and sure, it’s true that I sleep long after the alarm and subsequent snooze alerts go off while my daughter Cat gets up to feed and water the horses, but hey…this is a farm and I am living on it.

Knowing that I have to return to my home in New Jersey in just two weeks (hear me weeping???), I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the past few months and how my life—as well as my perspective—have changed.

Let’s start with my “crops.” When we arrived, I immediately began planning my garden. I started my seedlings indoor and transported them outside into little gardens that the hub made for me. I was deligent about watering them for about three weeks. And then that went the way of the snooze button. Nothing was growing and it was really discouraging. Finally, after loving these little plants to life, I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. They survived January and February. It was looking good.

Until March.

Two nights of frost killed everything.

Or maybe it was the weeds because in Florida, the weeds are really weird. They grow sideways and have big, fat roots that are impossible to dig out.

Next year, I will start my garden LATER and, when there is frost in the forecast, I’ll cover them with newspaper or have heat lamps out.

Thankfully, I have a day job (writing) so I can still feed my family.

The next big eye-opener was the fencing. We only have ten acres (right now…still trying to buy the ten acres next to us). It’s completely fenced. Painting the fencing was a nightmare.

Repairing the fencing was never ending. And the horses seem to delight in kicking, chewing, and crashing through board. Most of the main paddock is painted and looks good. Except for where someone broke through and the hub repaired it with a new board which, frankly, I’m too lazy to paint. It’s a lot of work for one board, you know?

And, if you look at the paddocks from the other side of the farm, well…we all slacked off on that side. I don’t know THOSE neighbors and they almost burned the neighborhood down one day when they decided to pump the water out of their pool with a tractor battery which caught on fire while they napped inside and burned their fencing. Cat saw it and we managed to call the fire department before it crossed the dry grass and burned down OUR property. So, for now, they can look at ugly, unpainted fencing.

The previous tenants (aka the squatters who never paid rent and killed all of our shade trees) started building a barn. I had such high hopes to finish it. Strike 3. Never happened. Enough said.

But I didn’t exactly strike out. I guess in farming you have more than three strikes.

I found one thing that I am good at…love doing…and do it without question each week.

I. LOVE. DRAGGING. FIELDS.

Give me a little zero radius tractor and a home-made drag with a paddock full of horse manure and I’m happy as…well…as a person on a tractor dragging a field.

We have four main paddocks and Cat rotates the horses between them. When she rotates to a new paddock, I’m right behind that last horse leaving with my Big Dog and drag. I could drag fields for hours. It’s like a treasure map, trying to find all of the piles of poop to break down so that the grass grows.

Crazy right?

Maybe it’s the challenge. Or maybe it’s the way it smells so earthy. Reminds me a lot of Amish farms. People either love that scent or they don’t. I fall in the former camp, that’s for sure and certain.

Now, if you look at my statistics here, I’m definitely not scoring so well with farming during my first season. But I have a plan for next year, believe you me.

Even more importantly, I have so much respect for farmers. It’s a lot of work. A LOT of work. Whether it’s raising cows for meat and milk production or crops to sell at market, farming is not for the faint of heart. I cannot imagine how the Amish farmers do it all.

So my perspective on life has definitely changed. As we prepared for the inevitable…re-entry into life in Jersey…I know that both Cat and I will have a hard time. People up north are not as friendly and life is much more fast-paced. I will miss having the horses outside my screened in room. I won’t hear them thundering around the paddocks at night or have to nudge Cat awake by the third snooze alert.

But missing life on our little farm is the best part, I suppose. If I didn’t miss it, that would be bad since we are planning on coming back even earlier next year… after Cat’s travel season ends. And when I get back, I will make another attempt at raising little crops, fixing all those fences, and building that barn.

And, best of all, I look forward to it being “a drag”…the horse poop kind, if you know what I mean.

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Recipe Post: Written in Love by Kathleen Fuller

Phoebe, the main character in my latest release, Written in Love, loves to cook. Jalon, the man she strikes up a pen pal relationship with, loves to eat. His favorite meal is Hunan Beef. Not exactly an Amish staple, but the Amish do enjoy eating types of cuisines other than the typical home style meals found in Amish cookbooks. Here’s a recipe for Hunan Beef, plus another recipe for sugar cookies that is more typically Amish. Enjoy!

For more information about Written in Love, visit Kathleen’s website.

 

 

Hunan Beef

Recipe courtesy of China Sichuan Food

Note from Kathleen: If you don’t have a wok, you can use a large frying pan.

Hunan style beef stir fry–a classic and popular Chinese beef stir fry recipe

Ingredients:

• 200g beef tenderloin

• 2 long green peppers

• 3 long red peppers

• ½ cup pickled yellow pepper

• 1 cup of celery

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped

• 1 thumb ginger, chopped

• ¼ teaspoon baking soda (can be used for tendering the meat, optional)

• small pinch of salt

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons cooking oil

Marinating sauce:

• 1 tablespoon cooking wine

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon starch

• small pinch of salt

• pinch of pepper

• ½ tablespoon sesame oil

Instructions:

1. Cut beef into thin slices (as thin as possible). If you are not skilled at cutting, freeze the beef for around 10 or 15 minutes before cutting.

2. Transfer beef into a large bowl and then add cooking wine, light soy sauce, starch, salt and pepper. Mix generally and them add sesame oil. Combine everything well. Set aside for 15 minutes.

3. Prepare all the side ingredients, cut peppers, celery, garlic and ginger.

4. Heat up cooking oil in wok until really hot and then fry the beef slices for around 30 seconds. Transfer out.

5. Return the extra oil to wok, fry garlic, ginger and all the peppers until aroma. Add celery and sprinkle a pinch of salt too. Return beef, add light soy sauce and give a quick fry. Transfer and serve with steamed rice immediately.

Amish Sugar Cookies:

Recipe courtesy of Taste of Home

• 1 cup butter, softened

• 1 cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter, oil and sugars. Beat in eggs until well blended. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture.

2. Drop by small teaspoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: about 5 dozen.

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Upon a Spring Breeze: Celebrating the changing seasons by Kelly Irvin

Spring has sprung—officially, anyway. Depending on where you live, you may be experiencing the first blooms of spring, sprigs of grass nudging their way through the cold earth, the first blossom on a rose bush, or green leaves opening on tree branches. Spring is a time of rebirth that brings with it a sense of renewed hope each year. Bess Weaver, the central character of my latest Amish romance novel, Upon a Spring Breeze, struggles to find that hope. Hers has been decimated by a tragedy from which she believes there is no return. She’s a young mother with a newborn baby, surrounded by reminders of all she’s lost. How can she believe God has a plan for her? How can she believe He is a good and gracious God? Three friends—widows who have experience with Bess’s situation—come alongside her to guide her through this season of change in her life.

As I wrote this novel, I too traveled on my own journey seeking renewed hope and assurance of God’s plan for me. I split my time between writing and the infusion room in a cancer care center where I received chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. The diagnosis came not long after learning I have a degenerative motor neuron disease that affects my ability to walk. I mourned the loss of my health and mobility as I wrote. I poured my grief and uncertainty into Bess’s story as I sought Scripture that would answer her questions and mine.

The answers aren’t easy. Life isn’t easy. But Bess learns—as I did—that God doesn’t promise an easy life. “I have told you these things so that in me you will have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (16:33)

That promise allows us to look beyond our pain to the beauty that spreads out before us to all corners of the earth. With her friends’ encouragement, Bess plants her spring flower garden. She takes a job cleaning rooms at a B&B. She makes a new friend who loves plants as much as she does and confesses to falling in love with her. She reconnects with an old friend, whose surprising secret opens her eyes to a whole new world of possibilities. She finds joy in motherhood.

Like Bess, we don’t always understand why we don’t get the answers to prayers that we so deeply desire. Scripture tells us this: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5) When we learn to do that, the peace that passes understanding gives us the healing we need.

Upon a Spring Breeze explores themes of loss and renewal that all readers will recognize as they travel through their seasons of change. I hope you’ll join me for a Facebook Chat Party celebrating the release of Upon a Spring Breeze at 8 p.m. EST (7 CST) on Wednesday, April 12, at https://www.facebook.com/Kelly.Irvin.Author/. Giveaways are sure to be included!

Kelly Irvin is the author of several Amish series including the Bliss Creek Amish series, the New Hope Amish series, and the Amish of Bee County series. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine. The Kansas native is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism. She has been writing nonfiction professionally for more than thirty years, including ten years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in Texas-Mexico border towns. A retired public relations professional, Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-nine years. They have two children, two grandchildren, and two cats. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.

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Meet John Thorpe from Newbury Acres

What is it about John Thorpe that makes him Banthe’s most ineligible bachelor?

He’s young and from a good family, but he isn’t courting anyone.

Since Banthe is mostly a summer vacation town, with Amish folks coming from near and far to spend a week or two at the lake, his exposure to young women is limited. And when Catherine Miller meets him, he seems pleasant enough (and certainly isn’t bad looking!).

Still, something about the older brother of Catherine’s friend, Ida Mae, bothers her. Maybe it’s his propensity for speed with his horse and buggy, or maybe it’s the strange tales that he tells that are nothing more than gossip—and some of it just not true. She’d like to think that he’s a natural born story teller, but she wonders if, perhaps, he’s nothing more than a big, fat fibber!

Catherine’s brother, James, knows John and yet she had never heard of John Thorpe until she was invited to vacation at Banthe.

Since everyone deserves a chance, Catherine is willing to overlook some of his short-comings. Will romance find a way to bloom between Catherine and John?

Find out more on March 21, 2017 when Newbury Acres is released!

Don’t forget to join me as I livestream at 7 p.m. tonight to celebrate the release of Newbury Acres. Have your questions ready for me as we discuss my inspirational retelling of a classic romance by Jane Austen! Click HERE for details!

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Meet Henry Tilman from Newbury Acres

The second son of Gid Tilman, Henry is tall young man with a thick shock of dark, curly hair. When Catherine meets him, his charm and wit intrigues her, especially since he, too, is well versed in reading the Jane Austen classics. And when he learns about her enjoyment of Amish romance novels, he doesn’t mock or make fun of her.

Back in Newbury Acres, Henry manages the farming aspect of his father’s properties while his older brother, Freddie, works in the wood shop. He’s a hard worker and enjoys cutting hay, tending to the dairy cows, and harvesting corn in the autumn.

When he is vacationing in Banthe, he prefers to take long walks around Moreland Lake, rather than hang out at youth gatherings.

Even though he is an eligible bachelor (and from a wealthy family, too!), Henry appears to be friendly with, but not necessarily friends to, all of the people in Banthe. However, he chooses to remain a steadfast companion to his sister, Ellie. When Ellie finds friendship with Catherine, Henry happily extends a mutual admiration for the young Amish woman.

And yet, his attachment appears purely plutonic, for reasons that Catherine doesn’t quite understand. Does his father’s stern approach to outsiders have anything to do with Henry’s reluctance to court anyone?

Find out more on March 21, 2017 when Newbury Acres is released!

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Meet Gid Tilman from Newbury Acres

The widower, Gid Tilman, has a strange reputation, both in Banthe and in Newbury Acres. He rules his three children, Freddie, Henry, and Ellie, dangling their futures over their heads and demanding their loyalty to the family business. Freddie will take over the large woodworking business while Henry will get the farm. And Ellie may only marry someone who is acceptable by Gid—and chances are that man doesn’t exist!

Despite being considered an upstanding member of the Amish community in Newbury Acres, he has an odd habit for purchasing land from his neighbors. Whenever a farmer is in financial trouble, Gid is right there to buy the farm and lease it right back to the farmer.

While many people whisper about how Gid seems determined to buy up all the land in Newbury Acres, no one can complain out loud (or to the bishop!) because he’s also helping the different families in the community. In fact, most families in Newbury Acres have some tie to the Tillman family. If Gid hasn’t purchased their land, he certainly is waiting for that moment to acquire it should the opportunity arise. And many of the young men work in the Tillman woodworking store which sells furniture all across the country.

But the one question that lingers on everyone’s minds is why not one of Gid’s children have married yet. Does it have anything to do with Gid’s curious marriage? Or perhaps his strict standards of who is worthy to carry the Tilman family name.

Find out more on March 21, 2017 when Newbury Acres is released!

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Meet Catherine Miller from Newbury Acres

What’s a young Amish woman to do when she lives in Fullerton on her father’s farm with little to no active social life? Why read, of course!

And oh how Catherine loves to read Amish romances. Her favorite romances are by a particular author who loves to retell Jane Austen’s classics. Catherine can live vicariously through this author.

After all, while Catherine’s life seems rather dull now, she knows that adventure awaits her!

As the second oldest of eight children, Catherine has a lot of responsibility on her shoulders. Throughout the year, she helps her mother with all of the chores while her younger siblings are still in school. But Catherine isn’t one to complain. Sometimes when she’s weeding the garden or washing the clothes, she lets her mind wander and make up her own romance stories in her mind.

Now, however, that summer has arrived, Catherine finds that she has more time on her own. Her sister Sarah can help with some of the chores which gives Catherine more free time. But she chooses not to go to youth gatherings. She’d rather stay home with her books than risk having to turn down some young man who wants to bring her home in his buggy. None of the boys in her home town are anything like the heroes in her romance novels!

When their neighbors Duane and Wilma Anderson stop for a visit and asks permission for Catherine to accompany them on vacation with them to Moreland Lake near Banthe, summer begins to look a bit more exciting!

Could she possibly experience life like in those Amish romance novels? More importantly, would she really want to?

Find out on March 21, 2017 when Newbury Acres is released! Click HERE to pre-order!

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Anna and Felty’s Top Ten by Jennifer Beckstrand

Anna and Felty Helmuth—the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill—are back and as feisty as a pair of eighty-plus-year-olds can be. Anna might have a few more creaks in her knees and cricks in her neck, but she’s as eager as ever to make suitable matches for her poor, forlorn, single grandchildren. In Return to Huckleberry Hill, Anna and Felty’s grandson Reuben just wants to be left alone, but nobody can withstand Anna Helmuth when she has a match up her sleeve. The Reluctant Groom is one of the stories you’ll find in Amish Brides, a collection of three Amish love stories from me, Molly Jebber, and Amy Lillard.

In Return to Huckleberry Hill, Reuben Helmuth is plenty bitter. He’s fed up with girls, two-faced friends, and people in general. His best friend, John, betrayed his trust and is now engaged to the only girl Reuben ever loved. Reuben is getting along just fine wallowing in his misery until John’s sister Fern shows up in town and starts making a pest of herself in an attempt to mend fences. It’s bad enough that she won’t stop preaching to him about forgiveness, but she claims she wants to be his friend too. Can’t he just be rid of her?

Suvie Newswenger is in a pickle in The Reluctant Groom. She’s twenty-eight years old, and she refuses to settle for just any boy in the community. That’s why she has her eye on handsome, brooding Aaron Beachy, Anna and Felty Helmuth’s great-grandson. Aaron is kind, humble, and godly, and his wife has been gone for almost three years. But snagging a husband like Aaron will take single-minded determination and Anna Helmuth’s best recipes. Can Suvie, with the help of Anna’s Spam-and-asparagus casserole, convince Aaron to open his heart and find love again?

In honor of the release of Return to Huckleberry Hill and Amish Brides at the end of May, here are Anna and Felty’s top ten most memorable quotes from The Reluctant Groom. Be sure to watch my blog in April for the top ten quotes from Return to Huckleberry Hill.

#10 Anna couldn’t keep a smile from her face. “Isn’t it wunderbarr that Titus found love right here in our kitchen? It didn’t even matter that both his goats pooped on my rug.”

#9 “All young men should be married before they make nuisances of themselves. Bachelors and fish stink after three days, you know,” Anna said.

#8 Felty turned back and smiled at Aaron. “We came for no gute reason and now we’re leaving you two alone together for no gute reason. I’m glad you’re not the suspicious type.”

#7 Anna clucked her tongue. “Did he try to share his bran flakes with you? That’s enough to scare any girl off. What good are bran flakes except to keep him regular?”

“Maybe he likes that they keep him regular,” Felty said. “No girl wants a boy who isn’t regular.”

Anna huffed out an impatient breath. “What’s romantic about being regular?”

#6 The wrinkles puckered around Anna’s mouth. “That boy is determined to scare girls off with his breakfast cereal.”

#5 “Well, he’s not going to catch a wife with bran flakes. Somebody needs to tell him that being regular is not the least bit romantic.” Anna let Felty help her into the buggy. “Ach, Felty.

Sometimes I think nobody would get married without our help. Die youngie are so thick sometimes.”

#4 Dawdi reached into his bag and retrieved two boxes of breakfast cereal. “Your mammi wants you to try these.”

Aaron stuffed his dishrag into his pocket. “Captain Crunch and Fruit Loops?”

“Captain Crunch Peanut Butter. They’re the most romantic cereals she could find on short notice.”

The other thing in Dawdi’s bag was a tub of cheese curds. “Your mammi says these will plug you right up. That’s all I have to say about that.”

#3 Anna nodded and clapped her hands together. “Do you have a spare rosebush in your greenhouse? We’ll pay double the price.”

Suvie was getting more confused by the second. “I have three rosebushes—a Horace McFarland, a Mister Lincoln, and a pretty pink variety.”

Anna paused with her mouth open, at a sudden loss for words. It didn’t take her long to recover. “Well. Bring the pink one. We don’t need those other two boys getting in the way.”

#2 “The best day to plant is always today, even in the rain.”

#1 “This is part of your wedding present,” Anna said, tapping her finger on the box.

Aaron squeezed Suvie’s hand. “What is it, Mammi?”

“Four boxes of Cocoa Pebbles, twenty Peanut Butter Captain Crunch, five Fruit Loops, and one Count Chocula. I’m not sure about that one, but it has a very interesting picture on the front of the package. And no bran flakes.” Anna leaned across the table and pinned Aaron with a stern gaze. “Don’t ever buy bran flakes again. You never know what could happen.”

Felty shrugged. “Well, Annie. They do keep you regular.”

Anna shook her finger at her husband. “Aaron and Suvie do not want regular. They want wunderbarr. No more bran flakes for them.”

Jennifer Beckstrand is the RITA nominated and award‑winning author of the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill and The Honeybee Sisters series. Novels in her Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series have been RITA® Award and RT Book Reviews Reviewer’s Choice Award finalists, and Huckleberry Hill won the 2014 LIME Award for inspirational fiction. Huckleberry Hearts was named a Booklist Top 10 Inspirational Fiction Book of the Year. Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people. She and her husband have been married for thirty-three years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and four adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten. Please visit her at www.JenniferBeckstrand.com

When it comes to matchmaking, Huckleberry Hill, Wisconsin’s unstoppable octogenarians Anna and Felty Helmuth never seem to run out of opportunities—or grandchildren…

Click HERE to pre-order Return to Huckleberry Hill!

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Northanger Abbey: The Forgotten Jane Austen?

Most of the time, when people mention Jane Austen, they immediately think of Pride and Prejudice or Sense & Sensibility. True diehards will mention Emma and Persuasion. Mansfield Park occasionally creeps into the discussion.

Personally, I enjoyed Northanger Abbey much more than Persuasion and Mansfield Park. But, in my experience, very few people ever bring up Northanger Abbey.

Why is that?

Perhaps it’s because Northanger Abbey was the first book that Jane Austen wrote but the last one published, her style of writing clearly had evolved over the years as well as her ability to dissect human behavior within the social structure within Regency era upper class.

Or perhaps it’s because Northanger Abbey has a very different storyline. Jane Austen seemed to be making a satirical commentary on the Gothic novels that were popular at the turn of the century. Despite the satire, Jane Austen’s first novel is a love story that, in many ways, is the most believable and true-to-life of all her novels.

Consider both John Thorpe and Henry Tilney, the former who is rather forward in his affections toward Catherine while the latter is much more restrained, leaving Catherine Morland wondering whether or not he does care for her as more than friend. Underlying the romance is John Thorpe’s quest to better himself—he thinks Catherine will inherit money—and Henry Tilney who has money but is rather understated about it.

I don’t know about you but, in my life, far too often I encounter fortune seekers, people who look for quick “Get Rich” schemes or try to rise to fame and fortune by taking short cuts. In some circles, especially with the younger generation, it’s expected that they will be rich and, when forced to work for it, they baulk…

To read more from this post, hop on over to Austen Authors!

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